Todd takes early lead
How the first phase unfolded
FOR the second consecutive year, Mark Todd led the dressage. In 2017 it was with Leonidas II; this time it was on Niki Ryan and Dr Elizabeth Donald’s Kiltubrid Rhapsody.
Oliver Townend had remained out in front on MHS King Joules with a correct, positive test for a mark of 27.2 from the outset on Thursday morning until the middle of Friday afternoon, when Mark slipped past him with
26.4. The 11-year-old Kiltubrid Rhapsody showed elasticity and elevation in his paces, marred only by a slight loss of balance in the extended trot, and he visibly enjoys showing off in this phase.
“He has a wonderful temperament — he goes into the arena and it doesn’t bother him at all,” said Mark, who took over the ride on Kiltubrid Rhapsody two years ago. “For where he is in his training, I don’t think he could have gone any better.”
Mark also piloted NZB Campino into 12th place — but for two errors of course, his mark of 30.8 would have been higher.
Tim Price also edged ahead of MHS King Joules on Ringwood Sky Boy with a graceful and obedient test for 26.9.
“I had high hopes for him, but sometimes he doesn’t know how to contain himself in the halts, and he stood properly still three times,” Tim said proudly.
No one looked happier than Sarah Bullimore, who finished dressage in fourth place on Reve Du Rouet with 27.3. The handsome 14-year-old son of Balou Du Rouet has famously struggled with the atmosphere on big occasions, but contained himself immaculately this time.
“He is genuinely frightened of the crowds,” said Sarah. “He’s not easy, has his own opinions and is tricky to train, so the key to today’s test was not ‘training’ him. We do a lot of flatwork when we’re hacking, for example, and this morning I took him up the gallop track, and we did a maximum of 10-15 minutes in the warmup area and didn’t go into the practice arena at all.
“He was fab today — for once he stayed on side and with me, and delivered.”
Oliver held two more spaces in the top 10 with Ballaghmor Class, fifth, and Cooley SRS, seventh.
His test-riding on all three horses was exemplary and, if Ballaghmor Class had maintained his connection and sparkle all the way through, he could have led.
“It didn’t quite come off, but at the same time I’m thrilled with how level and cool he stayed,” said Oliver.
Andreas Dibowski demonstrated his decades of
experience with the German team by wasting not a single mark for 28.5 and sixth place with FRH Butts Avedon. Andreas had been doing canter pirouettes in the warm-up area to get the Heraldik 15-year-old’s hindquarters underneath him and to get him in front of his seat and leg.
“I had a gallop in a showjumping saddle this morning and just spent 10 minutes in the warm-up,” smiled Andreas. “He was really crazy at the first horse inspection, but he was perfect today.”
Harry Meade (Away Cruising), Piggy French (Vanir Kamira) and Bill Levett (Improvise) filled the remaining spaces in the top 10, with just four marks separating Kiltubrid Rhapsody and Improvise, who sat 10th. A further 10 marks took us all the way down to 65th place, with just seven of the 70 starters scoring in the 40s.
There was little dissension about the judging, although Andrew Nicholson remarked that he must be “out of favour” with the ground jury after scoring 32.1 for equal 16th place on Paul and Diana Ridgeon’s Swallow Springs.
“It felt very smooth, active and smart to me,” he said with a shrug and a smile.
But, with the compression of marks caused by the removal of the dressage co-efficient at the beginning of 2018, nobody believed the first phase would have overwhelming influence when Mark Phillips’ cross-country track had yet to be tackled.